James des brisay



(No Model.)

J. DES BRISAY. ELECTRICAL SWITCH.

No. 498,880. Patented Jun@ 6, 11893.

@theme13 NrTn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES DES BRISAY, OF YORK, N. Y.

ELECTRICAL SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 498,880, dated June 6,1893.

Application filed November 23,1891. Serial No. 412,777. (No model.)

i To all whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, JAMES DES BRISAY, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York, in the county and State of New York, have made anewfand useful Invention in Electrical Switches, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention is directed particularly to a novel form of snap-actingswitch, and is in a measure an improvement upon a switch disclosed in apatent granted tome by the United States on the 30th day of June, 1891,bearing No. 454,995. n

My invention has for its object the construction of a snap or quickacting switch which shall be simple, compact, secu re against accidentsand efficient. in its operation. I accomplish this object by the use ofthe switch hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in theclaims which follow this specification.

The invention will be fully understood by referring to the accompanyingdrawings, in whichy Figures l and 2 are plan views showing the switchcontacts respectively in open and closed positions, the cover beingremoved so as to illustrate the interior construction. Fig. 3 is asectional View taken on line 3 3, Fig. l, and as seen looking in thedirection of the arrows. Fig. 4 is a detailed elevational view of theswitch handle and its attached parts, a portion thereof being shown asbroken away. Fig. 5 is a lsectional View taken on line 5--5, Fig. 4, thecontacting springs not being shown.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, in all of which like letters ofreference represent like parts wherever shown; B. represents the base ofthe switch, made preferably of porcelain, vegetable liber or anyanalogous non-conducting substance.

b. b. and b b represent bindingposts of two-pole form of switch, saidbinding-posts being wedge-shaped at their lower ends and provided withretaining wedges or keys N. N., after the manner set forth in my patentabove referred to.

T. is the axis which supports the rotary parts of the switch proper andwhich extends through the base thereof, and is provided at its lower endwith an oblong head which serves the double function of securing it onthe under side of the base and imparting to the switch proper the snapaction due to a pair of strong springs S S secured on the under side ofthe base by bolts and nuts, as shown in Figs. l and 2. The upper end ofthis axis is screw-threaded for receiving a retaining milled nnt M,located in an opening in the handle H, and projecting through an openingin a metal plate W, to the under side of which is secured an insulatingring R, adapted to bear upon the top of the cover C.

I. is a cylindrical block of glass, porcelain, vegetable liber or anyanologous non-conduct ing material, to which are attached the switchsprings S. S., they being secured thereto by screws s. s. which extendinto and bear on beveled metallic blocks m., as clearly shown in Figs. land 3. These metallic blocks are cast into the cylindrical block I whenit is made, thereby being in effect integral therewith. The switchsprings S. S. are curved, as shown, at their outer ends so as to make agood sliding contact with the flat faces of the bindingposts b. b. and bb', as clearly shown in Fig. 2, where it will also be noticed that theends of the wedges or keys N. N. act as back-stops for the springs,thereby preventing them from being carried past the binding-posts.

p. is a pin adapted to secure the axis T of the switch to the block I(see Fig. 4) so that when the cover is removed these parts will not fallapart. i

t. t. are screws for securing the metal plate W. to the handle H. andfor simultaneously retaining the locking milled nut M. permanently inposition, the screw heads being located in an open space at the top ofthe block I, between the lugs fn. n., there being sufficient space orwidth to permit of considerable angular vibration of the handle H.

The several parts of the switch are put together `as follows: Thebinding-posts b. b. and b b are secured in position by the lockingwedges or keys N. N. in the manner already referred to, and theconductors (not shown) are connected to said binding-posts, theconductors being connected on opposite sides, say to the binding-postsb. b., and the conductors similarly to the binding-posts bJJ, as isordinarily the case with two-pole switches. The axis T is slipped intoposition through ICO the opening in the base with the cross-head Dbetween the yielding springs S S. The part I is then put into positionand secured by the pin 1o, the contacting springs S. S. being in theposition shown in Fig. l. The cover C. is

, then put in place, after which the plate W.

and handle H. are attached to the axis T. through the agencyof themilled nut M. When this nut is adjusted to the position shown in Fig. 3,the non-conducting ring R will have sufficient bearing upon the top ofthe cover C. to hold it securely in place, and at the same time act asabearing for the upper portion of the axis T.

The operation of the switch is obvious, it being understood that whenthe contacting springs S. S. are in the position shown in Fig. 2, thecross-head D. is bearing firmly against the springs S S on the underside of the base, so that when the handle is rotated in the direction ofthe arrow and the heads of the screws t. t. caused to bear against theopposite faces ot' the lugs van., there will be sufficient stress putupon the springs S. S. to carry them out of contact with thebinding-posts, the action of the springs S S being such as to causeinstantaneous rupture.

I do not limit myself to the specific details of construction hereindescribed and shown, as it is obvious that the apparatus might bemodified materially and still come within the scope of my claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secu reby Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In a switch, the combination of a base, a spindle carrying themovable parts and having a threaded upper end, a detachable cover forthe operative mechanism, a thumb pioce or handle for turning thespindle, a threaded nut located in a recess in the handle and adapted toscrew down upon the end ot' the spindlebya rotation independent of thehandle, and a plate carried by the handle and adapted to bear upon andhold the cover in place, substantially as described.

2. In a switch one or more contact springs attached to metal lugsembedded in a nonconducting rotary part, substantially as described.

3. A switch having a non-conducting rotary part with metal lugs embeddedin its surface and one or more conducting contacts secured thereto incombination with an axis or spindle extending through the base and therotary part and detachably secured to an operating handle, substantiallyas described.

4. In a switch, the combination of a base, a central spindle carryingthe movable parts, and binding posts secured to the base, said postsbeing inserted in openings in the base from the under side and securedin place by transverse keys or wedges passed through the posts above thebase, said keys extending beyond the posts into the path of the movableparts so as to act as stops therefor, substantially as described. n

5. In a switch, the combination of a base recessed or hollowed out onits under side and carrying the stationary parts of the switch mechanismon its upper side, a spindle extending through the base and carrying themovable parts of the mechanism on the upper side of the base, a thumbpiece or handle for rotating the spindle, impelling springs secured tothe base within the recess, a cross piece iixed upon the lower end ofthe spindle on the under side of the base within the recess, and a coverfor the operative parts of the switch mechanism, said cover being heldin place by the handle, substantially as described.

6. In a switch,the combination of a spindle carrying the movable partsand having a threaded upper end, a thumb piece or handle for thespindle, a threaded nut located in a recess in the handle, and adaptedto be screwed upon the spindle by a rotation independently of thehandle, whereby the handle is detachably secured to the spindle,substantially as described.

7. In a switch, the combination of a base carrying fixed binding posts,a central spindle carrying the movable parts, a cover for the operativeparts of the switch, and a detachable thumb piece or handle for thespindle, said handle carryinganut adapted to be rotated independently ofthe handle to secure the same to the end of the spindle, and a bearingpiece carried by the handle and resting on the cover to hold the sameremovably in place, substantially as described.

` JAMES DES BRISAY.

Witnesses:

C. J. KINTNER, F. JARvIs PATTEN.

